Coordination

For any at-risk developing nation in which we could potentially implement our educational plan, there has to exist a well-coordinated source for information entering the country. With this in place, we then define the individual government’s role in most decision-making.

To facilitate the function of the governments, we plan on utilizing an “umbrella” non-governmental organization to coordinate efforts in multiple at-risk countries.

The World Bank would be an available resource because one of its priorities is helping developing countries improve their public services and reduce disaster vulnerability among the poor. Its new Disaster Management Facility has provided information on lessons learned from past disasters so that now the Bank can effectively focus on prevention rather than response (Kreimer, 2000).

Numerous organizations including governments, the World Institute for Disaster Risk Management, International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, and several UN Programmes are partners in the World Bank Disaster Management Facility’s ProVention Consortium. The Consortium may be our ideal coordinating body because it brings together government, international organizations, and private groups with the common goal of educating developing countries about the best way to reduce the impact of disasters (Kreimer, 2000).

The United Nations [UN] can also provide necessary coordination for our educational plan. One of the UN’s tasks is to form and maintain an “International Strategy for Disaster Reduction” [ISDR]. The Inter-Agency Task Force on Disaster Reduction then keeps the ISDR on target, gives them recommendations, and holds meetings of a network of interested organizations so that all plans of action are compatible (UN/ISDR).

Our actual educators to carry out these plans may also come from the Peace Corps who, in the past, utilized a mobile education center called the “Hope Bus” to convey information to groups of people across a large area (Education facilities and risk management).

Once we establish a non-governmental team to execute necessary training procedures, the first step of national officials would be to make sure that local coordination responsibility is given to the correct administrators, and that aid is provided to all areas of the nation – not just those most frequently cited in the news (Beatty). The government can help promote the centralization of tsunami-related expertise and then provide for communication to isolated areas (Union of International Associations, 1986). A possible plan for this process could be based on the fact that local administrators are gaining power in Peru as the government is being decentralized. The country is divided into twenty-five regions that are split into provinces that are in turn separated into districts. Each of these districts has an official (TDS).

In general, we would prefer to work with an established administrative body to implement our plan. For example in Peru, we would most likely want to collaborate with the Ministers of Interior, Education, Health, and Tourism; as well as with the Permanent Representative to the United Nations (TDS). In Micronesia, our concern lies with the power of Nationwide Public Services, and the concurrent powers of “borrowing money on the public credit” and “health and public welfare” (Griffiths, 2005).

As we put together our educational plan for the different sectors of each country’s population, we compiled a list of steps we need from a coordinating body:

  1. Approval of the materials we plan on distributing to local residents, officials, professionals, educators, and tourists. a. Brochures b. Handbooks c. Syllabi
  2. Funding of some of the training programs for these groups of people.
  3. Official invitations to international witness speakers and presenters.
  4. Translation and subsequent mass-production of our material in the prominent languages of targeted regions. a. Pamphlets b. Textbooks c. Charts and maps d. Audiovisual media
  5. Granting permission to distribute influential materials in government facilities like international airports.
  6. Consultation with media officials to coordinate programming.
  7. Legislation for building codes, and certification of tsunami-safe structures.
  8. Implementation of programs in state hospitals by a “Minister of Health”.
  9. Coordination of administrators in less-accessible, at-risk areas.
  10. Construction of appropriate signs in accordance with existing guidelines.
  11. Assignment of mental health professionals to individual communities.

Essentially, personnel and coordination efforts from non-governmental organizations will be used to bring well-structured information to the leaders of target countries. The respective countries’ central governments then have the task of facilitating coordination efforts to reiterate the information to their populations.


Sources:

  1. Educational facilities and risk management: Natural disasters. (2004). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
  2. Griffiths, A. L. (Ed.). (2005). Handbook of federal countries, 2005. Ithaca: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
  3. Kreimer, A. & Arnold, M. (2000). Managing disaster risk in emerging economies (pp. 2-6). Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.
  4. Travel Document Systems, Inc (TDS) (1996-2005). Peru government information. Retrieved October 31, 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.traveldocs.com/pe/govern.htm
  5. Union of International Associations (Ed.). (1986). Encyclopedia of world problems and human potential. New York: K.G. Saur.
  6. United Nations/ International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR). Inter-agency task force on disaster reduction: Functions and responsibilities. Retrieved October 31, 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.eird.org/eng/grupo-trabajo/funciones-eng.htm